


Five Men

by carolej126



Category: The Sentinel (TV)
Genre: Gen, Sentinel/Guide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-02-09 13:56:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18639469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolej126/pseuds/carolej126
Summary: Written in 2000.





	Five Men

The note itself was short and succinct, enclosed in a plain white envelope, and addressed to Jim Ellison.

_'We've got your partner. He's alive for now. You'll get a call at five o'clock.'_

Frantic calls to both the loft and the university went unanswered. Calls to Sandburg's cell phone had the same result. Campus security reported Blair's Volvo was parked in Rainier's parking lot. Backpack, keys, and cell phone were in his office. There was no sign of a break-in or a struggle. There was also no sign of the young anthropologist.

It had only been a half-hour since the arrival of the note, but to the five men of Major Crimes it seemed like an eternity.

4:59 p.m.

**Five men waited.**

Simon aimlessly shuffled papers.

Henri quietly sipped coffee.

Rafe nervously tapped a pencil.

Joel repeatedly checked the time.

Jim took several calming breaths, trying to gain control of his rampaging emotions.

5:00 p.m.

5:01 p.m.

5:02 p.m.

**Five men worried.**

Simon bit down on the cigar held between his teeth. "Damn."

Henri looked at his partner. "They're late."

Rafe nodded. "Probably just jerking us around."

Joel fidgeted in his chair. "Give them another minute."

Jim clenched his jaw even tighter, hands curling into fists. "Come on! Call!"

5:03 p.m.

5:04 p.m.

5:05 p.m.

**Five men wondered.**

Simon left his office to stand at Jim's side.

Henri pushed his coffee out of the way.

Rafe prepared to initiate the trace.

Joel held his breath.

Jim got up from his chair, stomach in knots. He reached for the ringing phone, hand trembling, and pushed the button marked 'speaker.'

"Ellison."

_"Jim?"_

Jim swallowed hard at the sound of his partner's voice. "Blair?" he whispered, then repeated it louder, "Blair?"

_"Yeah, it's me, Jim."_

Jim spoke quickly, his words tumbling over each other. "Chief, are you okay? Did they hurt you? What do they want?"

_"They're not here, Jim, and I'm fine. Can you pick me up?"_

Jim's eyes lifted to meet Simon's equally puzzled gaze. "Wait a minute, Sandburg. What happened? Where are you?"

 _"Two guys grabbed me, tied me up, and left me in an abandoned building. I don't know why. Idiots didn't know how to tie a knot. I managed to get untied after they left, so I ran..."_ Blair broke off with a laugh. _"And I mean ran! I wanted to get to a phone as fast as I could, 'cause I heard those guys talking about calling you at five o'clock. Anyway, I'm at a store on University Boulevard, called, uh, University Food Mart."_

"Are you safe? Any sign of the guys that..."

_"Nope, no sign of them, but I did hear a car racing off earlier. Bet they were really surprised when they found out that I was gone. Mr. Rodriguez, that's the shop keeper, is standing here with a rifle in his hands just in case."_

Jim nodded to Rafe as he read the handwritten message. "Units are on the way, Chief."

_"I know you must have been pretty worried. I'm really sorry."_

"I'm just glad you're okay."

_"So, can you pick me up?"_

5:08 p.m.

**Five men wept.**

Simon grinned as he grabbed Jim's coat from the back of his chair and handed it to him.

Henri and Rafe heaved sighs of relief as they exchanged delighted high-fives.

Joel chuckled at the plaintive tone in the observer's voice as he sank into the chair at Jim's side.

Jim looked around at his friends, not embarrassed in the least as he wiped away the matching sheen of moisture in his eyes. He leaned closer to the speaker on his desk. "Yeah, buddy. I'll bring you home."


End file.
